Why are the NHL playoffs so important to Canadians? Even though I know I have to do homework and I don’t have time to watch TV, I cannot draw myself away from the hockey games. Even games I don’t care about get supremacy over all else. Even though I watched the games last night I still put sports highlights on in the morning to catch the goals I only saw in replays. Even sleep is sacrificed to stay up and watch the late games. So why is hockey so important to Canada? Because it is an image. Most Canadians enjoy the sport of hockey or at least can sit through a game if everyone else is watching it. Canadians are known for their hockey prowess and it is celebrated especially in the Olympics. Canada is one of the only countries in the world that actually watched the World Junior Hockey Championships and it has been said before that without this support the tournament would not be able to run the way it does. There are very few Americans that follow hockey and even less that are as passionate as we Canadians about it. I think hockey is ingrained into our culture as Canadians and we have no choice but to enjoy it. Hockey is the one sport I follow outside of playoff time and when the Stanley Cup Playoffs roll around I am glued to the TV most nights with a few beers and some good friends.